Patio-to-sunroom conversion in Irvine CA - a real room on the patio you already have
If your patio sits empty half the year because of sun, wind or bugs, we can turn it into a room you'll actually use.
Can I turn my existing patio into a sunroom?
A patio-to-sunroom conversion in Irvine encloses the patio slab you already have with walls, windows and a roof, so the open space off your house becomes a fully enclosed room you can use.
Most people who call us have a slab out back that's too hot, too windy or too buggy to use for much of the year, and they want a real room there instead. The price mostly moves with the size of the room, whether it needs a new foundation and whether you want it heated and cooled or kept simple, while the schedule mostly turns on the city's permit steps and on what we learn when we check how your slab was built. Your written estimate spells out the room type, windows and insulation we settle on, so you see your own figure before you commit to anything.
What our patio-to-sunroom conversion work involves
Before we cut into an existing slab, we find out how it was built, because some slabs hide things you don't want a saw going through. A post-tension slab has steel tendons pulled tight inside the concrete, and another California city's building handout warns to check for them before any saw cutting or breaking, since a cut tendon can be very dangerous and expensive to repair. Once we know what we're standing on, we set a foundation where the room needs one, frame the walls, tie the new roof into the house, set the windows, finish the inside and clean up the site.
If the space you want closed in is a raised wood deck instead of concrete, that's a deck-to-sunroom conversion, which starts with the framing underneath rather than the slab. If you already know you want heating and cooling, our page on all season rooms covers what that kind of room takes.
What changes a patio-to-sunroom conversion in Irvine
Irvine's building permits page shows whether a given job needs a permit, so we check your project against it and take care of the permit steps with the city when it calls for them. The bigger change here is the city's fire hazard map, which now reaches into more neighborhoods than it used to. If your house sits inside one of those zones and the project counts as a major renovation, it has to meet fire code requirements, and that can affect how the room is built.
Most of the patios we enclose here are concrete slabs off the back of a stucco tract house, often under an old patio cover, and the careful part is tying the new walls and roof into the house so the room looks like it was always there. We're based in Irvine and work across Orange County, and we see the same kinds of houses and slabs on jobs in Tustin and Lake Forest.
How a patio conversion works
Call or send the form
Reach us at (949) 543-1630 or through the form, and tell us roughly how big your patio is and what you'd like the room for. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I look at your patio
I come out myself to look at the space, what the room will sit on and how it will tie into the house, and I walk you through the options right there. That's when we talk through a heated room against a simpler one, with no rush to decide.
Read your written estimate
You get a written estimate in plain words that spells out the room type, windows and insulation we talked about, so you can see exactly what you'd be paying for. If any line doesn't make sense, I'd rather you ask now than after the glass is in.
Our crew builds the room
Our own crew does the build, and I check in along the way. When it's finished, I walk the room with you.
Get a plain written estimate for your patio room
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out and see your patio. The estimate is free and done at your property, there's no pressure to book, and I write it out in plain words so you know what each line is for.
Questions before you enclose your patio
How much does it cost to turn a patio into a sunroom in Orange County?
Building a sunroom in Orange County usually costs about $120 to $200 per square foot. Larger rooms that need a foundation and have heating and air conditioning sit at the higher end of that range.
How do I choose between a four season room and an enclosed patio?
Choose a four season room if you want a heated and cooled space with all weather windows, and an enclosed patio if a simpler covered room with uninsulated windows or screens and no heating or cooling will do. I usually start by asking what you'll use the room for and when, because a home office in August needs something very different from a shaded spot for evening dinners.
Can I add insulation to a sunroom later?
You can, but insulated windows and insulation in the walls, floor and roof are much easier to put in while the room is being built, and adding them later can often cost more. California's Energy Code also sets energy efficiency requirements for additions and alterations to existing buildings, so we settle the windows and insulation in the estimate before any work starts.
How much of a deposit can a sunroom contractor ask for in California?
A down payment on a home improvement job in California can't be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the total contract price, whichever is less. The state's contractor board sets that limit for all home improvement projects, so it covers a sunroom too.
How do I set up payments on a sunroom contract?
Ask for a contract that clearly lists every payment after the down payment, with each one based on work already done or materials delivered to your house. That way you're paying for what's already there, not for what's still coming.
Which Irvine neighborhoods are in the new fire hazard zones?
Irvine's current fire hazard map reaches Orchard Hills, Woodbury, Portola Springs, Quail Hill, Turtle Rock, Laguna Altura, Los Olivos and Irvine Spectrum. If you live in or near one of those, check your address on the city's fire hazard zone map, since it decides which fire code rules a major renovation has to follow.
Why Irvine homeowners call Daylight Irvine Sunrooms & Patios for patio conversions
I do your estimate myself
I come out to look at your patio and put the estimate together, and our own crew does the build with me checking in along the way. You're never handed off to someone who hasn't seen your slab.
In Irvine since 2017
We started this business in Irvine in 2017, and most of our calls come from Irvine families and owners in the cities around it. After nine years of patios and tired old sunrooms here, the houses we tie into are familiar ground.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. On a job where our crew is cutting concrete and tying a roof into your house, that matters if something goes wrong.
Fire zone checked before pricing
Part of my visit is checking whether your address falls in one of Irvine's fire hazard zones, since that can change which fire code rules the room has to meet. Knowing it before the estimate keeps it from becoming a change later.
If you're still deciding between a heated room and a simpler one, that's a good conversation to have at your kitchen table before anything is priced. Send us a few details and I'll set a time to come out.
Other ways to add a room
Deck-to-sunroom conversion
When your outdoor space is a wood deck, the first question is whether its framing can carry a room on top of it.
All season rooms
If you plan to sit in the room through hot August afternoons and cool winter evenings, an all season room is built to be heated and cooled like the rest of the house.
Get your patio conversion estimate started
Call (949) 543-1630 or send the form with your patio's rough size, whether you're leaning toward a heated room or a simpler one, and your neighborhood, so I come out ready to talk about your actual room.
